1. Computers Are Your Future Eleventh Edition*
07/16/96
Computers Are Your Future Eleventh Edition
Chapter 2: Inside the System Unit
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

2. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.  
Publishing as Prentice Hall 2

3. *
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Inside the System Unit
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

4. Objectives Understand how computers represent data.*
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Objectives
Understand how computers represent data.
Understand the measurements used to describe data transfer rates and data storage capacity.
List the components found inside the system unit and explain their use.
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5. *
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Objectives
List the components found on the computer’s motherboard and explain their role in the functioning of the computer’s systems.
Discuss (in general terms) how a CPU processes data.
Explain the factors that determine a microprocessor’s performance.
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6. *
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Objectives
List the various types of memory found in a computer system and explain the purpose of each.
Describe the various physical connectors on the exterior of the system unit and explain their use.
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7. How Computers Represent Data*
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How Computers Represent Data
Computers work with binary numbers, which include only 0s and 1s.
The smallest piece of data a computer can work with is known as a bit.
A bit is either “on” or “off,” a 0 or a 1.
Eight bits, a byte, signify a single unit of storage.
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8. How Computers Represent Data*
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How Computers Represent Data
The common measurement of a modem’s data transfer rate is in bits per second, such as gigabits per second (Gbps).
The common measurement of data storage is in bytes, such as gigabytes (GB).
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9. How Computers Represent Data*
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How Computers Represent Data
Because even small numbers require many digits when converted to binary, computers convert binary numbers into hexadecimal (hex) numbers, which use the numbers 0 through 9, followed by letters A through F.
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10. How Computers Represent Data*
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How Computers Represent Data
Floating-point notation
Has no fixed number of digits before or after a decimal point
Enables a computer to work speedily with very large or small numbers
Requires special processing circuitry
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11. How Computers Represent Data*
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How Computers Represent Data
Characters (letters, numbers, and symbols) are converted into numbers the computer understands.
Character code performs this conversion.
Three main types of character coding are:
American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC)
Unicode
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12. Introducing the System Unit*
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Introducing the System Unit
The system unit is the case that contains the major hardware components of a computer.
System units come in different styles and have varying footprints—the amount of space that the unit uses.
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13. Introducing the System Unit*
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Introducing the System Unit
Some units have embedded biometric authentication devices.
System units vary in their form factor, which specifies how the internal components are located within the system unit.
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14. Inside the System Unit These are Figures 2.7a – 2.7d.*
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Inside the System Unit
These are Figures 2.7a – 2.7d.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

15. Inside the System Unit System unit main components Motherboard CPU*
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Inside the System Unit
System unit main components
Motherboard
CPU
Power supply
Cooling fan
Internal speaker
Drive bays
Expansion slots
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16. Inside the System Unit This is Figure 2.9.*
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Inside the System Unit
This is Figure 2.9.
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17. Inside the System Unit These are Figures 2.10a – 2.10e.*
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Inside the System Unit
These are Figures 2.10a – 2.10e.
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18. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The motherboard is the printed circuit board that contains the electrical circuitry for the computer.
The majority of parts found on the motherboard are integrated circuits.
An integrated circuit (or chip) includes millions of transistors and carries electrical current.
A transistor is a switch that is able to control the electrical signal flow to the circuit.
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19. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The integrated circuit chip that processes electronic signals is called the central processing unit (CPU).
The CPU is also known as a microprocessor or processor.
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20. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
Each operation performed by the CPU is assigned a specific number, called an instruction.
An instruction set is the list of CPU instructions for the operations that it performs.
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21. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The two main parts of the CPU are the control unit and the arithmetic logic unit.
The control unit retrieves instructions from memory and interprets and performs those instructions.
The control unit manages the machine cycle or processing cycle, the four-part process performed by the CPU.
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22. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The control unit manages four operations:
Fetch: Retrieves program instructions
Decode: Determines what the program is telling the computer to do
Execute: Performs the requested action
Store: Stores the results to an internal register
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23. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
This is Figure 2.12.
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24. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs arithmetic and logical operations.
Arithmetic operations involve adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.
Logical operations involve comparisons between two or more data items.
Registers store data when it must be temporarily stored in the CPU.
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25. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
Factors that affect the performance of a CPU include:
The number of existing transistors
Data bus width and word size
Clock speed
Operations per microprocessor cycle
Use of parallel processing
Type of chip
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26. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
A data bus is the group of parallel wires that connect the CPU’s internal components.
Data bus width is measured in bits.
The maximum number of bits the CPU can process at once is called the word size.
Word size determines which operating systems and software a CPU can run.
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27. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The system clock is an electronic circuit that produces rapid pulses and coordinates the computer’s internal activities.
Clock speed is the measurement of the electrical pulses generated by the system clock and is usually measured in gigahertz (GHz).
In general, the higher the clock speed, the faster the computer.
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28. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The number of operations per tick of the system clock affects microprocessor performance.
Superscalar architecture enables the CPU to perform more than one instruction for each clock cycle.
Pipelining enables the CPU to process more than one instruction at a time, which improves CPU performance.
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29. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
This is Figure 2.14.
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30. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
Parallel processing is a method in which more than one processor performs at the same time, resulting in faster processing.
This is Figure 2.15.
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31. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
The set of chips that collectively supply the switching circuitry the CPU requires to move data throughout the computer is called the chipset.
The CPU and the input/output bus are linked through the chipset.
The input/output (I/O) bus provides a means to communicate with input and output devices.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

32. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
Random access memory (RAM)
Temporarily stores data and instructions to be used by the central processing unit
Is considered volatile because its contents are erased when the computer is shut off
Permits the CPU to access or store data and instructions quickly through RAM’s memory address feature, which is a way to identify and locate stored data
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33. What’s on the Motherboard?*
07/16/96
What’s on the Motherboard?
This is Figure 2.18.
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34. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
Read-only memory (ROM)
Contains prerecorded instructions used to start the computer
Is considered nonvolatile because its contents are are stored when CPU power is turned off
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

35. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
Cache memory
Is a small unit of fast memory built into the processor to improve performance
Is more expensive than RAM
Comes in two types:
Primary cache, found in the microprocessor chip
Secondary cache, located on the circuit board
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36. What’s on the Motherboard?*
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What’s on the Motherboard?
This is Figure 2.19.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

37. What’s on the Outside of the Box?*
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What’s on the Outside of the Box?
The front panel includes:
The power switch, which is used to turn the computer on
The drive activity light, which advises the user that the hard drive is retrieving data
The power-on light, which shows whether or not the power is on
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38. What’s on the Outside of the Box?*
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What’s on the Outside of the Box?
Other features on the outside of a system unit:
A port is an interface used to send data into and retrieve data from the computer. An example is a USB port.
A connector is a physical receptacle where the user can plug a peripheral device into the computer. An example is a telephone jack.
This is Figure 6.19.
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39. What’s on the Outside of the Box?*
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What’s on the Outside of the Box?
This is Figure 2.20.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

40. What’s on the Outside of the Box?*
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What’s on the Outside of the Box?
Different devices use different connectors.
This is Figure 2.21.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

41. What’s on the Outside of the Box?*
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What’s on the Outside of the Box?
Legacy technology is older technology that is being phased out. Examples are:
Parallel ports
Serial ports
SCSI (small computer system interface) ports
PS/2 ports
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42. *
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Chapter Summary
Computers work with binary numbers, which include only 0s and 1s.
The smallest piece of data a computer can work with is known as a bit; eight bits equal a byte. Bytes are used to represent a character.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

43. *
07/16/96
Chapter Summary
Data transfer rates for communication devices (modems) are measured in bits per second.
Data storage is measured in bytes.
The system unit’s main circuit board is the motherboard, to which the processor, memory, circuits, and other computer components are connected.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

44. *
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Chapter Summary
Other elements of the system unit include the power supply, cooling fan, internal speaker, drive bays, and expansion cards.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

45. Chapter Summary The CPU is made up of the control unit and the ALU.*
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Chapter Summary
The CPU is made up of the control unit and the ALU.
The control unit manages the four-step machine cycle: fetch, decode, execute, and store.
The ALU performs calculations and logical operations.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

46. *
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Chapter Summary
Factors that influence the performance of the CPU include the data bus width, clock speed, pipelining, and parallel processing.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

47. *
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Chapter Summary
Main memory, RAM, is volatile. It temporarily holds programs, data, and instructions.
ROM, which is nonvolatile, contains prerecorded computer start-up instructions.
Cache memory is additional CPU memory that operates at very fast speeds.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall *

48. *
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Chapter Summary
Computers use ports, such as a USB port, to send and retrieve computer data.
Legacy ports include serial ports, parallel ports, PS/2 ports, and SCSI ports.
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49. Quiz 2
List the four operations of the processing cycle and provide a brief description of their function.
What is the difference between registers and primary cache?
List three to five factors that affect the performance and speed of a computer.
What is the difference between pipelining and parallel processing?
What is the difference between a USB port and a FireWire port? What devices connect to each? Which is more cost-effective?
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall